This is a fascinating in-a-nutshell look at Iraqi history. Amazingly enough, while some of the syphilitic-child-molesting priests of "old Europe" were keeping my maternal ancestors terrified and poor in England, the Netherlands and Italy just a few hundred miles away a civilization bloomed in Iraq. While my maternal European ancestors burned each other as witches for suspicion of the use of wolfsbane or something equally as stupid, in Baghdad they had teaching hospitals. Then came the Mongols, Turks and The Brits and everything changed and not for the better. Go read the article, it's interesting to see who we've declared "war" on, and how they got to where they are today.